as in marginal
located at or near a border
a frontier town with a reputation for vice and lawlessness
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in border
a region along the dividing line between two countries
the Apaches were once feared on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico frontier
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in countryside
a rural region that forms the edge of the settled or developed part of a country
Alaska has been called America's last frontier
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of frontier
Charlie Campbell, Time, 11 Dec. 2025
Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 24 Apr. 2026
The visit comes amid Venezuela’s ongoing political transition and underscores Bogotá’s push to stabilize its volatile frontier with its eastern neighbor.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 24 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for frontier
Adjective
That worried Huang, who fears a Chinese rival, and White House officials, who believe Chinese dependence on non-frontier American chips is the best way to ensure a lead in AI.
—Charlie Campbell, Time, 11 Dec. 2025
Noun
OpenAI in February warned lawmakers that DeepSeek has been attempting to replicate the performance of the ChatGPT maker’s models and those of other US frontier labs through distillation.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 24 Apr. 2026
The visit comes amid Venezuela’s ongoing political transition and underscores Bogotá’s push to stabilize its volatile frontier with its eastern neighbor.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 24 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for frontier
Recent Examples of Synonyms for frontier
Adjective
-
These are not marginal improvements.—
Ed Gaskin,
Boston Herald,
26 Apr. 2026
-
The year was 1976 and Thin Lizzy — still a marginal band, at best, in America — was putting the finishing touches on Jailbreak, a make-or-break album for their label.—
Devon Ivie,
Vulture,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The designation East Palestine may have come from its location in far east Ohio, near the Pennsylvania border, in Appalachia.—
Mary Norris,
New Yorker,
1 May 2026
-
The 400-acre Carowinds amusement park straddles the North Carolina and South Carolina border in Charlotte and Fort Mill.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
30 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The insurgents, who operate at ease, crossing borders and dominating much of the countryside in Mali and Burkina Faso, now feel emboldened to target capital cities.—
Ulf Laessing,
semafor.com,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Rivers of Babylon, written in 1991 by the Slovak author Peter Pišťanek, tells the story of a young, simple-minded, and broad-shouldered ex-soldier called Rácz who leaves his impoverished village in the Slovakian countryside to work as the stoker of a hotel in Bratislava.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
This will be one of a record nine international games scheduled for the 2026 season, which will take place across four continents in seven countries.—
The Athletic NFL Staff,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Italy’s navy chief of staff Giuseppe Berutti Bergotto told state broadcaster RAI this week that his country is ready to deploy up to four vessels to help clear the Strait of Hormuz, according to Reuters.—
Sarah Dean,
NBC news,
25 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Some of the coolest crappie fishing of the year occurs in backwaters that are easily accessible by foot.—
Cory Schmidt,
Outdoor Life,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Gold transformed Victoria from a pastoral backwater into the most celebrated colony of the empire.—
Britannica Editors,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
19 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
On arrival, guests are paired with a personal local guide–think of it as the hinterland’s answer to a butler—on hand to arrange everything from restaurant bookings to last-minute requests, typically handled with a quick text.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
23 Apr. 2026
-
Moreover, as soon as Christianity began to spread outside his native land, Christian converts faced new situations in unexpected contexts, completely different from those of their founder, an itinerant Jewish preacher in the sparsely populated hinterlands of rural Galilee.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Older kids and teens may love the challenge of backcountry trails, while younger ones can soak in the scenery on shorter walks.—
Lauren Schuster,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
22 Apr. 2026
-
Much of this influence played a role in what would become the dialect of the South more generally as Scots Irish settlers and their descendants spread into the backcountry of the Upper and, a bit later, the Lowland South.—
Valerie Fridland,
Big Think,
21 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Otaegui came to the par-5 18th needing birdie to force a playoff and hit his tee shot into a bush to the right.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
26 Apr. 2026
-
When selecting plants like beans, cucumbers, and tomatoes, look for determinate or bush-type plants—these varieties stay small and are well-adapted to containers.—
Lauren Landers,
The Spruce,
25 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Frontier.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/frontier. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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